X-Message-Number: 26912 From: "Mark Plus" <> Subject: What part of "jet fuel shortage" don't you understand? Date: Thu, 01 Sep 2005 22:59:53 -0700 Imagine what will happen to long-distance commercial jet travel when the oil supply collapses in a few years, like the double-digit declines we've seen in the North Sea. I haven't found any reports yet of cancelled flights to the U.S. because of concerns about not getting the fuel for the return trip. Mark Plus http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8CBMA000.htm?campaign_id=apn_home_down&chan=db The Associated Press/ATLANTA By HARRY R. WEBER AP Business Writer Airlines may face possible fuel shortages SEP. 1 4:31 P.M. ET Airline stocks continued to slide Thursday amid jet fuel prices that have risen nearly 20 percent this week following Hurricane Katrina's devastation, which prompted at least two major carriers to raise fares. A Standard & Poor's analyst, meanwhile, said the added financial pressure on Delta Air Lines Inc., the nation's third-largest carrier, "may hasten an already likely bankruptcy filing, which will probably occur within weeks." Jet fuel prices have risen in the last week an average of 36 cents, from $1.91 a gallon on Aug. 23 to $2.27 a gallon on Tuesday, according to Jack Evans of the Air Transport Association. He didn't have updated figures Thursday. The increase, blamed in part on refinery outages and other damage along the Gulf Coast because of the hurricane, means an extra $18.6 million per day in fuel cost for the airlines based on an average daily industry consumption of 52 million gallons of jet fuel. http://www.forbes.com/business/services/2005/09/01/katrina-airlines-fuel-cz_mt_pb_0901airlines.html Will Katrina Ground Airlines For Good? Mark Tatge and Phyllis Berman, 09.01.05, 5:55 PM ET CHICAGO - Add U.S. airlines to the casualty list in Hurricane Katrina's wake. Expect more Chapter 11 bankruptcies followed by mergers among the industry's top players. Topping the list are two familiar names: Delta Air Lines (nyse: DAL - news - people ) and Northwest Airlines (nasdaq: NWAC - news - people ). Skyrocketing jet fuel prices, which have already cost the airlines an additional $9 billion since 2003, will only accelerate industry consolidation if oil prices stay above $70 per barrel, as is widely expected. Jet fuel prices are running $2.32 per gallon on the East Coast. And while that may seem cheap compared with a gallon of gas, jet fuel prices have more than tripled since the mid-1990s. Jet fuel now accounts for 27% to 30% of operating costs and exceeds labor costs at some airlines. Flight cancellations and service disruptions related to the hurricane are going to cost the airlines revenue. And it couldn't come at a worse time--just before Labor Day, marking the start of the seasonal traffic slowdown. As traffic tapers off, airlines will have less cash to pay those big fuel bills. Watch for major airlines to press the U.S. government for emergency relief or an exemption from antitrust, so they can consolidate. Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=26912